Cabinet structure employing grooved and folded laminated panels



Oct. 14, 1969 1.. E. HIMELREICH 3,472,572

CABINET STRUCTURE EMPLOYING GROOVED AND FOLDED LAMINATED PANELS FiledOct. 30, 1967 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR LOUIS E. H IMELREICH 62. mu ,05M

ATTORNEY CABINET STRUCTURE EMPLOYING GROOVED AND FOLDED LAMINATED PANELSFiled Oct. 30, 1967 Oct. 14, 1969 E. HIMELREICH 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 m H mWE R ,L E m H E v S W ATTORNEY Oct. 14, 1969 L. E. HIMELREICH CABINETSTRUCTURE EMPLOYING GROOVED AND FOLDED LAMINATED PANELS Filed 061.. 30.1967 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR LOUIS E. HMELREICH wz. aw

AT'T ORNEY United States Patent 3,472,572 CABINET STRUCTURE EMPLOYINGGROOVED AND FOLDED LAMINATED PANELS Louis E.'Hin1elreich, Louisville,Ky., assignor to H. J. Scheirich, Louisville, Ky., a corporation ofKentucky Filed Oct. 30, 1967, Ser. No. 678,935 Int. Cl. A47]: 47/00 U.S.Cl. 312-9259 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A base type cabinetstructure with a front framing including an upper rail cooperating withstiles formed of grooved and folded laminated side walls and with alower rail formed of a grooved and folded bottom; the front uppercorners of the structure being reinforced by braces respectively joiningthe upper rail and side walls of the structure and which braces areadapted for connection to a top for the cabinet structure.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention The invention relatesto cabinets such as are employed in home kitchens, or elsewhere, andwhich normally are supported on the floor and are designated basecabinets. Such structures generally embody doors, drawers, interiorshelves, and top which may take many different forms, as for example, asimple flat shelving, a sink, a burner or other structure forming thetop portion of the cabinet. Such a cabinet may either have a rear wallbuilt into it or may be positioned against the wall of a room servingthe purpose of the cabinet rear wall. As disclosed in my copendingapplication, ,Ser. No. 662,936 filed Aug. 24, 1967, and assigned to thesame assignee as the present application, cabinets employing laminatedstock material with an exposed ornamental layer of such material possesscertain advantages in construction procedures and in appearance. Thepresent invention discloses a cabinet structure wherein such advantagesare secured and at the same time wherein many different forms of cabinettops may be employed with the cabinet structure itself.

Description of the prior art Conventional base cabinets require a largeamount of carpentry and finishing work particularly with respect to thefront framing and the surfaces which are exposed to view. The use oflaminated stock materials employing grooving and folding techniques hasbeen suggested in the making of containers and table tops, asexemplified by the Zalkind Patent No. 2,274,765 and the Clements PatentNo. 2,149,882 respectively. However, the strength requirements of a basecabinet present problems of manufacture which are not encountered inbuilding such articles as containers nor indeed in the making of aconventional Wall cabinet. In addition to supporting a heavy top, suchas a sink, a base cabinet may have to support the weight of a personstepping on the bottom edge of the cabinet or climbing upon the top ofthe cabinet, as well as supporting shelf loadings within the cabinet.The present invention embodies the use of prefabricated laminated sheetswhich have flanges, framing rails and stiles integrally formed thereon;which can be readily assembled using simple hardware or by employment ofconventional cabinet joints such as mortise and tenons, dowels, lapjoints or the like; which provides a strong construction expected in abase cabinet; and which does not require a finishing treatment for thecabinet surfaces.

3,472,572 Patented Oct. 1969 r. we

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to a base cabinetstructure having side walls, bottom and an optional rear wallinter-fitted and joined together to provide a rigid, open-top structureto which a suitable top member may be easily attached. The side wallsinclude integral stile portions formed of grooved and folded laminatedsheets and the bottom includes an integral lower rail for the frontframing of the cabinet and which also is formed of a grooved and foldedlaminated sheet. The bottom is joined to the side walls and provides arigid structure spacing the rear edges of the side walls even when norear wall is present as an integral part of the cabinet structure. A toprail for the front framing is attached to the stiles and the front uppercorners of the cabinet preferably are equipped with bracing means whichare adapted to be joined to a top for the cabinet. The outer laminationof the sheets provide a finished surface which obviates furtherfinishing of the cabinet surfaces after assembly of the parts. Objectsof the invention include the provisions of a base cabinet which can beassembled quickly without special carpentry work and which is strong andrigid; and the provision of a front framing which may support a varietyof drawer and door arrangements without detracting from the otheradvantages of the cabinet construction.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The objects of the invention will bemore apparent when considered in conjunction with the followingdescription and with respect to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. I is a perspective view of a completed cabinet embodying thecabinet structure of the invention and with portions broken away.

FIG. 2 is a front elevation view of the cabinet structure with the top,doors and drawers removed.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the structure shown in FIG. 2 and with portionsbroken away.

FIG. 4 is a sectional View taken along line 4-4, FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a typical bottom panel.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view to an enlarged scale taken on line 66 of FIG.5.

FIG. 7 is a section of the mullion, to an enlarged scale as taken online 77 of FIG. '2.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the upper'rail to an enlarged scale astaken on line 88 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of a foot to an enlarged scale as taken online 9-9 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of a corner brace, and

FIG. 11 is an elevation view of the corner brace of FIG. 10.

DESCRIPTION OF- THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A typical base cabinetembodying the invention as seen in FIG. 1 comprises a pair of side walls10 and 11 joined at their rear edges to a rear wall 12 and adjacenttheir lower edges to a bottom 13. The side walls 10 and 11 are suitablygrooved and folded at their front vertical edges to provide the stiles14 and 15 respectively of the front frame of the structure and thebottom 13 is suitably grooved and folded to provide the lower rail 16 ofthat frame. Upper rails 17 and 18, as later to be described, are joinedat their adjacent ends to a central mullion 19 and at their other endsto the respective stiles. When drawers such as shown at 20, 21 areemployed, a pair of intermediate rails 22, 23 are likewise mounted aspart of the front frame of the structure. Doors 24, 25 supported bysuitable hinges 26 are mounted upon the stiles and close against thecentral mullion. The width of the stiles is not less than twice thethickness of the side wall and is such that ample space is present formounting the hinges or other hardware without damaging the laminationsof the side walls. Preferably, but not necessarily, the lower edges ofthe side walls extend below the lower rail 16 and a toe rail 27 offsetrearwardly from that lower rail serves to enclose the space beneath thebottom of the structure. Any suitable top 28 is mounted upon the cabinetstructure as above defined and is fastened to the structure in a mannerlater to be described.

Referring now to FIGS. and 6, the bottom panel 13 is formed from stocksheet material comprising an outer layer 30 of readily bendable vinyl orsimilar plastic and having a suitable thickness, for example about 0.006inch. This first lamination is bonded to a layer 31 of differentmaterial such as plywood, fiberwood, composition board or the like whichhas a much greater thickness, for example about 0.375 inch. By relativemovement between the rectangular sheet and a suitable grooving orrabbetting apparatus a miter groove 32 is formed in the secondlamination without rupturing the first lamination. This groove extendsparallel to, but inboard of, one side edge of the sheet leaving anelongated tab which forms a side flange 33 when the cabinet structure isassembled. Similarly, a groove 34 leaving a tab for side flange 35 isformed at the other side edge of the sheet, and a groove 36 leaving atab for a rear flange 37 is formed at the rear end of the sheet. At thefront end of the sheet, however, a groove 38 is formed parallel to andinboard of the edge of the sheet leaving a tab 39 which is to form aninner section of the lower rail 16 and adjacent this groove a similargroove 40 is formed leaving a triangular strip 41 which is to form thelower end section of that rail, and still farther inboard another groove42 is formed leaving a strip 43 which is to form an outer section ofrail 16.

By means of a suitable blanking operation the respective corners of thesheet are then cut away so that by placing adhesive in the grooves andfolding the edges of the sheet a bottom member may be fabricated withdepending flanges at its side and rear and with a depending rail at itsfront. It is to be noted that cutting away of the front corners of thesheet establishes shoulders 44, 45 and 46, 47 which are arranged to abutagainst and embrace the stiles 14 and 15 respectively. Moreover, whenthe cabinet structure is to employ a central mullion 19 a router cut maybe made in the bottom sheet leaving an aperture 48 into which a mullionsupporting member may be inserted. Alternately, the aperture may beomitted and the mullion held in place by means of a conventional woodworking joint.

Side Walls 10 and 11 preferably are formed of a stock sheet materialsuch as that described for the bottom member, but of a differentconfiguration, and are suitably grooved and adhesively secured toprovide stiles along their front vertical edges and flanges 50, 51 alongtheir rear vertical edges as best seen in FIG. 3. In a preferred form,the side walls are formed without rails at their top and bottom edges,but such rails may be provided whenever desired without departing fromthe invention.

Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 8, the upper horizontal framing meanspreferably comprises an elongated rail of rectangular cross sectionformed of a grooved and folded sheet of material such as used for thebottom and side walls of the cabinet and including a front side portion52, two triangular end portions 53, 54 and two polygonal shaped rearside portions 55, 56. A plurality of such rails will be used when amullion is employed in the cabinet front frame, but when no mullion ispresent a single rail is used. In assembling the cabinet structure flatfasteners 57, 58 using suitable screws extending into the secondlaminations of the rails and mullion secure the parts together. At theirouter ends the rails 17, 18 are preferably secured to the side walls bymeans of a special brace B as best shown in FIGS. 10 and I1, and whichincludes apertured walls '60, 61 disposed at right angles and bentupwardly from a horizontal plate 62 having holes 63, 64 therein adaptedto receive screws (not shown) for fastening the brace to the undersideof the cabinet top. At their upper ends the walls are formed withprojecting flanges 65, 66 which, as best seen in FIG. 4, rest upon theupper edges of the upper front rail and the side wall 10, the respectivewalls also being fastened to that rail and wall. In addition, smallprojections 67, 68 are struck out normally from the lower edges of thewalls of the brace and fit into rabbetted spaces which are formed in thesecond laminations of the cooperating rail and cabinet wall.

As seen in FIG. 3 similar braces B preferably are employed at all uppercorners of the cabinet structure securing the rear wall, the side walls,and the upper framing means into a rigid structure. When drawers areemployed with the cabinet an intermediate assembly of rails 70, 71 withfiat fasteners 72, 73 and with corner braces 74, 75 are used. In thisarrangement the side walls are provided with rabbetted spaces to receiveboth the upper flange 66 and the projection 67 of the brace. The mullionpreferably, but not necessarily, is also formed of grooved and foldedmaterial and includes a wide front side portion 80, two triangular endportions 81, 82 and two polygonal rear side portions 83, 8-4. At itslower end the mullion fits in the recess 48 of the bottom member and issecured to the lower rail 16 as by a flat fastener 85. As will beunderstood, the described upper and intermediate frame rails and themullion may comprise any suitable structural material other than groovedand folded sheet without departing from the invention. However, sincethe ornamental appearance of a cabinet used in the home is important andsince the bendable thin lamination 30 not only is attractive but :alsoprovides a smooth corner edge, it is especially suitable for such railand mullion construction.

In assembling the cabinet structure much of the conventional carpentrywork associated with base cabinet manufacture is omitted. When theadhesive in the grooved and folded sheets has set, the various flanges,stiles and rails become essentially an integral strong part of therespective sheets. The rear wall 12, when used, preferably comprises arectangular flat sheet of the same material as the side walls and withrecesses near its top edge to receive the projections of the respectivecorner braces. As seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, the two vertical edges of therear wall are embraced and secured as by adhesive to the flanges 50, 51of the side walls and the flange 37 of the bottom :abuts against and maybe secured in any suitable manner to the confronting face of the rearwall. Meanwhile, the cutaway front corners of the bottom 13 embraces,and may be secured in any suitable manner to the lower ends of thestiles 14, 15. Customarily the lower edge of the rear wall and the frontwall 16 are disposed above the lower edges of the side walls which, ifdesired, may rest on the floor. However, the cabinet may be supportedupon the flanges 33, 35 of the bottom and, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 9,lengths of cove molding or other form of post may be disposed at therear corners of the structure and suitably fastened to side walls 10, 11and to their flanges 50, 51. At such locations the support is thendisposed beneath and in contact with the rear wall 12 and the sideflange of the bottom. In addition, molding pieces 91 are disposedadjacent the front of the cabinet beneath the side flanges of the bottomand are suitably aflixed to the elongated toe rail 27 the ends of whichextend beneath the cutaway lower front edge of the side walls. By meansof the described interfitted construction a particularly strong andrigid base cabinet structure results.

As will be appreciated, when no drawers are employed the intermediaterails 70, 71 can be omitted and the doors 24, 25 cover the entire frontof the cabinet. When drawers are used, any suitable conventional guides(not shown) may be mounted to the inner surfaces of the side walls, or aconventional center guide rail (not shown) may be mounted between thetop of the rear wall and the appropriate top rail 17, 18. It ispreferred to use a roller guide assembly such as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4and which includes a plate 92 with an upper flange 93 and a lower flange94 embracing the upper and lower edges of the intermediate rail. Thisplate is mounted as by means of screws against the rear side portions55, 56 of the rail. A bracket 95 extending from the plate 92 mounts aright hand roller 96 at an elevation suitable for engagement with thelower side edge of the drawer 21, it being understood that a cooperatingleft hand roller 95A is mounted similarly at the opposite side of thedrawer space. A similar drawer roller guide assembly (not shown) isemployed for supporting the other drawer 20.

Shelves may be employed with the described cabinet structure andpreferably are supported at their side edges by means of clips 97, 98fastened into holes formed in the second laminations of the side walls.Such a shelf 99 as shown in FIG. 4 preferably is formed of laminatedsheet grooved and folded at its front edge to provide the downwardlyprojecting flange 100. Notches formed in the underside of the foldededge of the shelf receive the clips 97 to hold the shelf againstshifting motion.

Various modifications of the above described construction may beemployed without departing from the invention. For example, when no rearwall is formed as an integral part of the structure, the flanges 33, 35of the bottom member are secured to the inside surfaces of side walls10, 11 and the rear edge of the bottom member abuts against the verticalflanges 50, 51 of these side walls. The structure then is capable ofbeing positioned against a wall of a room and fastened thereto by screwspassing through the flanges 50, 51 of the side walls and through theflange 37 of the bottom. Should rear upper corner braces be deemednecessary, a separate upper framing rail (not shown), or rails, may beadded to give further rigidity and to provide a mounting to which drawerguiding means may be attached.

The stock sheet material used for the side walls may have a thin vinyllamination on both sides so as. to improve the interior appearance ofthe cabinet; the cabinet may have more than one mullion and may havedrawers arranged in a vertical tier and with a plurality of verticallyarranged intermediate front framing rails; or additional reinforcingmeans below the bottom of the cabinet may be used.

What is claimed is:

1. An open top cabinet structure adapted to have a top aflixed theretofollowing assembly of the structure and comprising a pair of side wallsand a bottom aflixed to said side walls and spacing the same apart, eachof said walls and bottom being formed of a relatively thin, readilybendable first lamination of material attached to a relatively thicksecond lamination of a different material, said side walls being groovedin the second lamination thereof and folded at their front verticaledges to close the grooving and to form solid flanges having anadhesively secured double thickness of the wall materials extendingnormally to said side walls thereby to provide stiles of a front frameof said structure, said bottom being grooved in the second laminationthereof and folded at its front horizontal edge to close the groovingand to form a solid flange having an adhesively secured double thicknessof the bottom materials extending normally to said bottom thereby toprovide a lower rail of said front frame, an upper horizontal framingmeans attached at its ends to said stiles and serving as an upper railof said front frame, and means securing said bottom to said side wallsadjacent the rearward portions of said side walls.

2. A cabinet structure as defined in claim 1 wherein said bottom isgrooved in the second lamination thereof and folded along its horizontalside edges to provide flanges extending to the rearward portions of saidside walls.

3. A cabinet structure as defined in claim 1 wherein each of said sidewalls have cutaway front lower corners providing vertical edges therefordisplaced rearwardly of said lower rail of said front frame and a toerail disposed in contact with said vertical edges of said cutawaycorners and extending beneath said bottom.

4. An open top cabinet structure adapted to have a top aflixed theretofollowing assembly of the structure and comprising a pair of side walls,a rear wall, and a bottom, each of said walls and bottom being formed ofa relatively thin, readily bendable first lamination of materialattached to a relatively thick second lamination of a differentmaterial, said side walls being grooved in the second lamination thereofand folded at their front vertical edges to close the grooving and toform solid flanges having an adhesively secured double thickness of wallmaterials extending normally to said side walls thereby to providestiles of a front frame of said structure, said bottom being grooved insaid second lamination thereof and folded at its front horizontal edgeto close the grooving and to form a solid flange having an adhesivelysecured double thickness of the bottom materials extending normally tosaid bottom thereby to provide a lower rail of said front frame, anupper horizontal framing means attached at its ends to said stiles andserving as an upper rail of said front frame, means for securing saidbottom to said side walls and to said rear wall, and bracing meanssecured to the respective side walls and upper framing means at thefront upper corners of the cabinet structure and adapted to be attachedto the underside of a top for said cabinet.

5. A cabinet structure as defined in claim 4 wherein each of said sidewalls is grooved in said! second lamination thereof and folded along itsrear vertical edge to provide a flange adapted to be secured to saidrear wall.

6. An open top cabinet structure adapted to have a top aflixed theretofollowing assembly of the structure and comprising a pair of side wallsand a bottom, each of said side walls and bottom being formed of arelatively thin, readily bendable first lamination of material attachedto a relatively thick second lamination of a different material, saidside walls being grooved in the second lamination thereof and folded attheir front vertical edges to close the grooving and to form solidflanges having an adhesively secured double thickness of the wallmaterials extending normally to said side walls thereby to providestiles of a front frame of said struc ture, said bottom being groovedinsaid second lamination thereof and folded at its front horizontal edgeto close the grooving and to form a solid flange having an adhesivelysecured double thickness of the bottom materials extending normally tosaid bottom thereby to provide a lower rail of said front frame, avertical mullion attached at its lower end to said lower rail, an upperhorizontal framing means comprising short rails attached at theirrespective ends to said stiles and to said mullion and serving as anupper rail for said front frame, and bracing means secured to therespective side walls and upper framing means at the front upper cornersof the cabinet structure and adapted to be attached to the underside ofa top for the cabinet.

7. A cabinet structure as defined in claim 6 including an intermediateshort rail disposed below said upper rail of said frame and attached atits ends to one of said stiles and to said mullion thereby to provide adrawer space, a drawer disposed in said space, and means for guidingsaid drawer during its movement within said space.

8. A cabinet structure as defined in claim 7 including a door hingedlysupported upon one of said stiles and adapted to close upon saidmullion, said door covering a portion of the front of said cabinetstructure unoccupied by the front of said drawer.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,149,882 3/ 1939 Clements 29-4762,249,344 7/ 1941 Blechman 312-259 X 2,274,765 3/ 1942 Zalkind 161-111 82,649,350 8/1953 Backus et a1. 312-258 3,034,844 5/1962 Anderson et a1.312-253 X 3,279,873 10/1966 Gronquist 312-259 5 CASMIR A. NUNBERG,Primary Examiner U.S. C1. X.R. 161-109; 312-258

